. >>> roman catholic church is elevating seven new saints ask one from the united states is kateri tekakwitha, the first native american to be canonized. ♪ >> reporter: celebration and pride for one of them who is now a saint. >> i thought i'd never see this in my lifetime. >> it's our job to share this with the world and let them know about it. >> reporter: she is known as the lily of the mohawks and now more than three centuries after her death, the blessed kateri tekakwitha is the first native american to be canonized. >> it means everything. not only to us catholics, but also to all native people. our traditionals as well. our traditional people who never accepted the faith. >> reporter: kateri tekakwitha was born along the mohawk river in what is today up state new york. this site of a mohawk village is thought to be where she grew up. a short walk away, a spring, the village water source, where it's believed she was baptized. her face was permanently scarred from small pox at age 4 in an epidemic that claimed the lives of her parents and brother. at age 20, she chose the faith of the